Good health care also means having health insurance to cover those doctor visits and trips to the pharmacy. That coverage comes in several different ways and often depends on your income and may depend on your disability status:
- If you have a full-time job, your employer may be helping to cover some of your health insurance costs.
- Many people with part-time employment receive health coverage through Medicaid, which is funded by both Indiana and the federal government.
- Some workers with disabilities are eligible for M.E.D. Works, Indiana's "Medicaid buy-in" program. M.E.D. Works members contribute a small monthly amount to receive health care coverage. Some of those workers with disabilities may be eligible for additional assistance through a Medicaid waiver.
- Individuals with disabilities who have low incomes or who aren't working often receive both Medicaid and assistance through a Medicaid waiver. Medicaid and Medicaid waivers provide coverage for both health care and other services and supports, like a personal assistant to help you get dressed, special therapy if you need it, or even assistance so that you can work.
- Sometimes a younger person with a disability whose parent has retired or passed away, may receive Medicare, 24 months after becoming eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), based on their retired or deceased parent's work record.
Health Coverage Resources
Medicaid Waivers--an explanation from the Arc of Indiana on the types of waivers supporting people with disabilities in Indiana. In the section "Where Do You Apply," you'll find contact information for the Bureau of Developmental Disabilities.
M.E.D. Works--a fact sheet from the Benefits Information Network (BIN), a project of the Center on Community Living and Careers. M.E.D. Works is Indiana's Medicaid buy-in program.
Section 1619(b): Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid--a BIN fact sheet describing this work incentive program of the Social Security Administration that allows you to continue receiving Medicaid coverage even after you begin earning enough money to allow you to stop receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Working and Paying for Health Care--a BIN fact sheet describing information about programs that can help you pay for health care when you're employed.
